DiscoClax

Cheers Les, Two axle sets of each of the items if it's no bother. You are indeed, a prince amongst men. PM for you, with addy. Thanks again

Alright, time for an update... some advice, and a plea for help, in that order. Update:- Tried the spray on abrasive compound. Well, that made a huge difference... several dB louder. Then I stripped off all of the spray stuff, "machined" the rotor with 220 grit wet&dry (1st gear, one wheel in air), PBR squeal-stopped the backings and cleaned everything again. Much better... for a few kms... then returned over time to the previous levels. I can't blame the spray-on stuff, it was obviously only accelerating the bedding in process (as it's designed to do) as my squeal levels now are as they were after the spray. Run-out checked as as perfect on the LHS, but there is small amount visible on the RHS (minimal, though). No lube on the discs. Note that the mountings were cleaned with a brass brush when fitting the discs to the hub. Both sides squealing. Advice:- Then I contacted DBA on-line help. Their local sales manager called me the next day and we had a nice long chat. He then had a chat to his counterpart at Bendix to try and nut this out. Long story short, their recommendation is don't use Bendix 4WD brake pads if you are actually going to use them off-road semi-regularly, or tow, etc. Use the Bendix Heavy-Duty variant instead. The 4WD pads are more of an on-road pad formulation and can be susceptible to squeal. The HD ones suppress squeal much better and cope better with off-road use. Also the advice was that I was pushing it up hill with a stick to solve the issue without the factory backing shims (which I've never had). Desperate plea for help bit:- Despite my best efforts to source these backing shims here in Oz, I can't track any down. The OS suppliers don't seem to want to deal with us Antipodeans as I cannot get a response from any of them. Is there any kind-hearted forum member that would be willing to source some of the bits I need and ship them across? I'll cover all costs, include a forum donation, plus cover the cost of a few pints of that warm beer substitute you guys seem to enjoy as this classifies as thirsty work. Wish list- Axle set of items 20 and 21 on the attached pics of the rears and item 21 on the fronts (I'm converting from solid to vented front brakes and need the longer retaining kit for it). Ideally I'd like enough bits to do the car twice (ie. so I have a spare set) given that they're low-cost, light items.

A lot of wear on the inside of only one of the tyres on the same axle would normally indicate a lot of negative camber on that wheel. Given that adjusting it on a Disco involves pulling half the hub apart and fitting special shims, I'd be looking at dodgy swivels or wheel bearings or a similar wear-out/loosen-off issue. Good luck.

Castrol Transmax Z is also a good option. It's green in colour. Full synthetic and gives excellent protection and shift feel and quality. Can be used in place of Dexron IID or III or light/medium gear oils. Not cheap, though. You could try filling with a quality Dexron III mineral oil to see if that helps as a cheap test, and then refill with synthetic if deemed warranted. Note however that the synchro linings of modern boxes are porous and therefore it can take a a few hundred miles (and sometimes a flush) before the new oil really shows its characteristics. Doesn't really apply to the older-design brass rings. Not sure of the design and specific lining materials in your 'box. One of the advantages of synthetic oils is the way they are formulated. Mineral oils get "chopped-up" very quickly by the shearing forces and lose a fair whack of their viscosity and cushioning within a few hours of operation. Synthetics don't really have this problem as they are almost insensitive to this effect and will hold their viscosity very well over time.

Thanks for the advice Paintman. Finally got a few minutes free to have another crack at the brakes and put anti-squeal on the pad backings today as you suggested. De-glazed the pads at the same time with a bit of emery, just in case. Net effect: bugger all. Still screams like a rabid banshee as soon as the slightest warmth gets into the pads. Starting to run out of options... Still trying to track down where I can get the shims. Toying with the idea of going to a Bendix Heavy Duty pad to change the interface frequency, but they're overkill in the rears and may not come into their operating temp during normal driving. Almost sounds like the brake shields are now going off as well, just to add even more noise to the equation... Aaaaaargh There's a product that you can spray onto the discs which makes them temporarily more abrasive, allowing the pads to de-glaze and bed to the rotors quickly. I'd never heard of this product before today but it was recommended by a respected source (who was also highly sceptical before trying it himself in a multitude of customer cars with very good results). Has anyone had any first-hand experience with this sort of product? I've tried the new generation Bendix pads with the Titanium stripe recently, which are supposed to aid bedding in and give good pedal feel and bite from new (like the miracle spray above). They were (and are) excellent and live up to all of their claims. Unfortunately the pads I got were from older stock, and don't have the stripe. P.S. I put slotted rotors on there for improved performance. Esp after water crossings/mud baths where the pads bite hard immediately, rather than after a few heart-stopping revolutions. Also stops rocks, etc jamming in the pads and causing damage to the rotors or pads. I've had plain, slotted and cross-drilled in the past and have found slotted rotors easily best for off-road use (and on-road for that matter). Apart from that, it extends the thermal operating range of the pads under extreme duress - ie. less fade.

Just to close out for those interested. I eventually got the starter bolt out by ripping the heatshield off and hammering a double-hex socket over the socket-head cap screw. Turned out that I didn't have a big enough Torx bit in my set. I used a 9mm allen key and tried to modify it to become a sort of broach, but that cost me an hour and an allen key for no positive result. Not having the right size replacement hardware, I "converted" the damaged cap screw to an external hex with the angle grinder as a temporary fix. And then later replaced the bolts (now that I could get them out and measure them). I've got a starter heatshield off a D2 that looks far more effective than the dodgy original and will be going on really soon, and certainly before the weather warms up. I replaced the tie-rod ends with factory Lemforder ones, and it steers so much better. Took a lot of the shimmy/shake out of the steering wheel, too, not surprisingly. Tried the "beat the cr@p out of the rod end sections with a hammer" method and I can thoroughly recommend it. Makes you feel better, too. Still need to get a proper wheel align done, there's only so much you can do with a measuring tape... Thanks again to those that took the time to help out. Cheers.

Hi all, I replaced the stock rear rotors with DBA slotted ones last weekend. New Bendix 4WD (AFM) pads went in at the same time. These are the same pads as I have always run (now on my third set) without any previous issues at all. Problem is that after the first two or three brake applications they start to squeal. Didn't happen initially, but as the pads started to bed in, this issue started to happen. Doesn't occur when dead cold, and improves if I've been motoring down the freeway for a while off the brakes and they cool right off. Gets progressively worse as the brakes warm up and starts happening at higher speeds. And I'm not talking " Oh, that's a bit annoying" type squeal. I'm talking "People in the next suburb looking out their windows with their fingers in their ears" type squeal. Driving me totally nuts. I change into low-range for carparks now so I can stay off the brakes as much as possible. It's really embarrassing and annoying in the extreme. I haven't had a chance to off-road on the new brakes yet, they've only done about 1,000kms of mainly highway work so far. Pistons are retracting properly, can't see anything obviously wrong with the brakes. Seems to be the LHS ones only, as well. I've tried putting anti-sieze compound on the edges of the backing plates and contact areas of the top retaining spring plates, and even chamfering the leading edge of the pads. No joy. No better. Still being deafened. I've avoided using an anti-squeal compound on the backs of the pads so far as that's always somewhat messy and coats the pistons and seal in gunk (and doesn't always work). Note that I don't have the pressed metal shims fitted (which appear in the EPC), but then I never did. Someone please help... My usual fixes haven't worked.

Hmmmm, sometimes I wish I did have carbs... Scary how much of what you mentioned still had some validity. It's still burning hydrocarbons at the right time in the right quantities in the right order...

I remember carbies... Had three of 'em on my last car (175 CD-2S Stromby's to be precise). Bugger to balance them all and keep them all tuned and maintained but so worth it when they were just right. Good suggestion with the crank breather, TwoSheds. I'll check the amount of pull-over. Not sure why it'd do it more on petrol than gas, but stranger things have happened. Probably running richer on petrol, maybe enough to cause the poor running when you add a bit of oil. Or it might be the rail pressure regulator, or the injectors, or the computer, or the wiring.... Ah, bugger it... Maybe I should just drop a Holley on it...

Now why didn't I think of that...? That'd make a lot of sense. I'll try bridging it out and belt it over a few bumps to see if that sorts it. It's just behind the washer bottle on mine, so at least it's easy to get at. Cheers

Had a similar issue in mine, and it was the starter. Started fine first thing (cold) but wouldn't crank, or crank slow, or just make clicky sounds when the engine got warm. Got worse over time until I couldn't trust it anymore. Upgraded the battery to a you-beaut, high capacity AGM-type with no real improvement. Got a good second-handy of fleabay and whammo, she cranks like a demon now. Mine's a V8 D1. Good luck

OK, firstly, it's a D1 3.9 auto V8 (with dizzy) 8.1 comp, no cats no oxys. It's dual fuel, running a 42ltr petrol tank in the RHR wing with factory fuel pump and sender. Twin LPG tanks where the petrol tank used to be. Its a 14CUX EFI system with Lucas hot-wire (all engine and injection is factory standard, as built). The problem:- If I'm running on petrol and hit a sharp bump, like an aggressive speed hump/pot-hole or while off-road, the engine will just die or it'll stammer and cough with no power at a low very rough idle irrespective of throttle position. Generally recovers in a few seconds or after an ignition cycle. Has never done it when running on LPG, so I'd assume it's not an ignition related issue (it's an older "dumb" carby-type gas system with no interface to the EFI computer, so the fuel and ignition systems are stand-alone). I've replaced the fuel pump with a known good unit*, checked fuel/electrical connections at the rear end, ensured lines are clean, filters replaced, etc. No change. * Nothing seemed wrong with the old unit when I pulled it, but there was a fair amount of rust and crud in the swirlpot and stuck to the filter of the old pump. All squeaky clean now. I'm thinking the EFI computer is copping a jolt and somehow dropping out. Ba$tard of a thing to get at, so I don't really want to pull the bugger out unless really necessary. However I have heard that they are problematic? I'm looking to convert to vapour injection, so I've got to get the EFI working properly first. As an addendum, it's never really run totally properly on petrol. Starts OK, but has gone through random phases when it over-fuels badly, currently has a hole on tip-in and sometimes loses power and misses if held at WOT high revs for a while like when overtaking on a hill). Is sluggish and doughy when cold and feels like its overfuelling (like an oversize cab). Quality 98RON fuel used exclusively and tank, lines and filter all cleaned/replaced recently. Runs fine on LPG with none of these issues. Economy on LPG is around the 20-22ltrs/100kms (~13mpg) mark - 90% freeway, and about 18-20 ltrs/100kms (~15mph) on petrol for same usage, which seems on the high-side to me, but it's generally pretty consistent. Note that my vac adv isn't working at the moment either (split diaphragm) - refer wanted items in the classified section Sorry this is so long, but it (hopefully) reduces the number of question and answer iterations required. I'd welcome others thoughts and feedback (excluding converting to diseasal...)

Yep, Kumho USA list a couple of 18" wheel options... 35x12.5 and 38x15.5. http://www.kumhousa.com/print_specs.jsp?pid=KL71

Hi all, Refer also to the... "Kumho KL71 Mud Tyres, For Everyday Use..." topic under the Discovery part of this forum. (Sorry, I can't work out how to do a link) Cheers

Found it... http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ Click on the "Air Filtration Test" tab on the left. Some interesting stuff on oils, too...

Hi all... my two-bobs worth... Note that filter oils typically are a very different formulation to lubricating oils. They go on as a liquid, but then become very tacky after coming in contact with air and the filter media, which minimises oil loss (incl through the MAF = poor running, etc), and promotes dirt capture and low restriction. I would recommend strongly against using anything but the recommended oil for a foam or cotton-type reusable filter for the reasons above. Also note how much (or little) you should use - a light covering is all that is required, usually. I am running a hand-me-down (thanks bro') K&N pod filter, but will change over to the factory air box and paper filter as soon as I can find the bits (I bought mine second hand with a foam pod fitted because of the LPG set-up). I personally believe that a quality paper filter (esp as big as the factory one) will provide excellent dirt capture, whilst causing an insignificant level of flow restriction. Cheap to replace too, and you don't have to stuff around cleaning the buggers every 10k. IIRC K&N state that their filters capture "99%" of the dirt that a paper element would. If you really believe the factory set-up is restrictive, get an accurate calibrated vacuum gauge and plumb it into the intake just after the filter (but before MAF, etc) and go out and redline your engine at WOT. If the gauge shows that you are pulling a significant vacuum (remember that 1kPa = approx 1% power/torque loss), and you often drive under these conditions, then a change may be warranted. otherwise, I'd argue that LR spent many millions of pounds developing and validating the system in all sorts of conditions and it's probably reasonably optimised... Having said the above, a friend of mine always fits K&Ns and has found that they won't pass water. He found this out during a river crossing that went a bit awry in his XJ Jeep. His intake sucked water, the filter got wet, the engine stopped... but there was no water downstream of the filter element, and therefore no engine damage was done. He gave it a tap, let it dry on top of the engine while he had a cuppa, and then drove off. I haven't tried it myself, and don't plan to... The problem with paper filters is they go soggy when wet and implode = water gets through and engine goes bang. But then again, there are always snorkels... I don't have the link with me, but a guy did a comparison of paper vs cotton vs foam, etc on his MX-5 and posted the results on the web. He was based in Western Australia, but that's about all I can recall. I'll see if I can find it and post the link for those interested. Long story short, he found that the paper element was the most effective at cleaning the air.

Hi Gavo, I, too, am cursed by a whining transfer box. Changing the oil didn't do anything for the noise, but at least it has a nice shot of high-quality oil in it . Can I suggest fitting a nice set of knobbly tyres to hide the noise...? As Raceface stated, checking the auto oil level when warm will give a falsely high reading. ATF (auto trans fluid) expands significantly when warmed up. Some transmissions (late-model 6-speed ZFs for instance) have a defined temperature at which you should check the levels to get an accurate read. On a side-note... I've heard urban-legend type rumours of Discos locking up their transfer boxes (as in siezing), causing a rapid trip off to the side of the road with smoke pouring off the tyres, assuming it's not on it's roof by then... A former collegue stated they also knew of someone who had it happen to them in the UK, and Land Rover unofficially admitted it was a known (but very low-incidence) issue. Apparently the earlier built ones had the issue. Is there any truth to this? Has anyone experienced it, are there any warning signs? (like a noisy transfer box )

Tyre wear update, for those interested... Refer below for pics of my tyres taken today. They've done approx 17,000kms now. I'll rotate them every 20,000kms. Wearing evenly, but more wear on the fronts. They started at about 12.0-12.5mm depth, now at around 10.5-11.0mm on the fronts, 11.5-12.0mm for the rears. At this rate they'll do an easy 80,000kms, so I'm pretty happy - esp given the grip and performance and the fact they get driven on in a spirited manner. They seem to be resisting off-road damage pretty well, too. Noise levels are remaining acceptably low. Overall, still a very happy customer. P.S. 38 psi front and rear (lightly laden). Front tyre shown first, then rear.

Thanks AndyG, I must admit I was thinking of sacrificing one of my cheap Torx bits for exactly that reason. It makes sense that if you can get enough interference between the socket cavity and the Torx bit, it should provide more drive as they effectively have twice the number of driving faces. I'll have a crack at it and let you know how it turns out... Cheers

Yeah... well... it started off as a quick question, but then I got carried away... Cheers for the advice

Quick question... Background - I was under the Disco this fine evening trying in vain to swap the starter motor (refer bonus question below) and noticed that the track rod had a fair bit of play, in both ball-joint ends. It's probably only about a mm of play, but significant enough to be easily felt and seen. My question is - Obviously the tie-rods need replacing, but is it still safe to drive for a few more days, or should I park it until I can get the parts? I've got a 170km round trip to work, majority of at freeway speeds. I know that the result of either end going would be... umm, extremely unpleasant... but I also know that the LR product is built like a brick dunny and there's a fair bit of "reserve capacity" in its engineering. Bonus question - My starter motor's playing up a bit and I have a known good unit to swap in. However the top bolt (socket-head cap screw) has had someone mangle the socket pretty well before I got to it. An 8mm hex-drive just spins in it. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I may be able to get the &*%$#%^&! thing out? I don't have access to a welder. Should I just try and bash a 11/32" hex into it and have another crack at it, or is there a better way? Any help gratefully received, as always...

A similar thing happened to me in the last few days. Cruise was getting progressively "weaker" in that it wouldn't hold speed up even gentle hills, was slow to engage and then would lose speed, etc. In my case, the end of the hose that plugs into the actuator near the throttle had perished. Looked OK on initial inspection, but I gave it a twist and it was well cracked up. Chopped an inch off and jammed it back on with a bit of electrical tape "reinforcing" the first inch or so as a temporary fix. Test drove today, and all's well again. I'll be replacing the entire hose, as the rest of it can't be in much better condition.

That's what I was afraid of. A good mate of mine has just returned to the old country after a few years downunder and is working near AP so I'll see if he can help out. Still, glad to hear the longer pins are easy to source (and reasonably priced, too) Thanks for the help.

Hi all, I'm in the process of upgrading my standard solid front rotors to the vented type but I've run into a stumbling block, hopefully someone here can help out. I've sourced some caliper conversion bits directly off AP in the UK , but have lost contact with my (overworked, but extremely helpful) man on the inside after an unexpected career-direction-realignment. So far I've been able to source the following components:- Vented disc rotors - slotted (DBA) Caliper spacers - 10mm (AP) Caliper seal tubes - (AP) Caliper bolts - 10mm longer (local bolt shop) But I can't seem to find the following bits:- Caliper seal "crush tubes" - ie the steel tubes that sit inside the caliper seals. My seals are short rubber tubes. Pad retaining pins - ie. 10mm longer ones I've got a heap of new standard caliper bolts, pad retaining pins, and pin clips that were sent to me in error, but am really struggling to locate the "upgrade" bits listed above locally. Seems that the vented front Disco brake is a rare thing in Oz... My disco is a series 1 update (ie. single brake line to front calipers) if that makes a difference. Also, can the pad-spreading coil springs be re-used (maybe stretched out a bit?) or should I be getting new, longer ones of these, too? Any help gratefully received from the green-oval gurus herein...

Not sure if this is the right spot to throw this in... I vaguely remember seeing a thread somewhere regarding this tyre asking for feedback. I was always planning to fit Goodyear MT/Rs (esp as I could get them at just over wholesale price ) but then my contact disappeared and I had to fend for myself at retail pricing... I let my mouse to the walking and found a this mud tyre from Kumho that tweaked my interest. I've used Kumho's a bit in the past on my road cars with good results. Long story short, I found a set of old, second-hand Fomb 15x7" alloys and got a set of 31" Kumho KL71s fitted about 6,000kms/2 months ago and I've just gotta share my experiences with other enthusiasts. OK, first the disclaimer - I do not work for, or have ever worked for Kumho, or any of their affiliates, or distributors or anything, and I will not receive any financial gain from anyone buying or not these tyres. This is an independant review, and my opinions only. I don't care what tyres you fit, or who fits them. Right... Now the good bit. These tyres are awesome! Let me explain. I drive about 170kms (100mi+) per day just on my daily commute to and from work, pretty much all highway (motorway). Every chance I get I go playing in and around my home (I live in a rural area with excellent access to some of Victoria's best 4WDing within 15-30mins). I love playing in mud and slush. These tyres are amazingly quiet on road (no worse than BFG ATs, for comparison), hang on like grim death on road (lateral, longitudinal, wet, dry doesn't matter), and yet plough through the soft stuff like there's no tomorrow. Mud clearing is very good, with little clagging and nothing a touch of right foot won't fix. I haven't assessed snow/ice traction as yet, and my exposure to sand has been limited (but positive). Excellent in clagging clay and all other loose surfaces I've tried. The biggest (and only) complaint I have is that they have a knobbly ride at speeds up to about 10-15km/hr (<10mph)... That's it. That's the worst thing I can say about them. From jogging speeds onwards they are as quiet and civilised as a good AT tyre. I should however mention that the sidewalls are only 2-ply rated, which may worry some of you with regards to puncture resistance. Time will tell with my usage as to whether that's a problem or not. I've killed BFG ATs in the past (delamination and splitting) - 3-ply, but had no real issues with my Goodyear AT/Rs (2-ply), so go figure? Also, the KL71s have some pretty meaty sidewall protection moulded-in (like the MT/Rs), so this may be less of an issue. Size availablity is limited mainly to the core standard sizes, but also low-profile/big-wheel sizes up to a crazy 38x14R24"! Sizes listed seems to vary by country, and some more are reportedly being tooled up now and due to be available at some time in the future. I suggest you do your own research, but get a second opinion as to what's actually available if you strike out first time (like I did). The tread compound feels quite soft, which seems to be contributing to good chip and tear resistance (and great on-road grip) but I can't see any appreciable wear (or measure a difference from new) after 6,000kms. It's still at about 14-15mm tread depth. Certainly the wear rate is a lot better than I expected from such a soft-sticky tyre. It looks like the tyre is designed to run mainly on the centre strip of tread on-road which means the side bars don't make heavy contact unless cornering. On any loose surface (or aired down a bit) the side lugs start to do their thing. Best of both worlds This might mean that they get noisier as they wear down (typical of mud-tyres) but they actually seem to be better now than when new, if anything. I run mine at around 36-38psi front and rear on-road, and haven't had to air-down for traction yet off-road. That gives me an on-road footprint of the entire tread apart from the outer 3/4 inch of the offset outwards lugs. They've also got a rim bead protector moulded into the sidewall, which I reckon helps prevent dirt and sticks, etc jamming into the bead (and helps protect your rims from damage). Oh, and did I mention that they retail for about 2/3 the price of the MT/Rs...? I paid under AU760 retail for a set of four (31x10.5R15), fitted and balanced. That's less than the wholesale price of the MT/Rs w/out fitting! They were actually a few dollars cheaper than the old-pattern Kumho muds in the same size from the same source. No-brainer, there. Some links for those interested... And a pic of a proper floatation-sized tyre fitted up, and a couple of my front and rear tyres at about 5,000kms for reference. Yes, they do look that good in reality... Even better with mud all over them http://www.kumhousa.com/specifictire.do?id...2&pid=KL71# http://www.kumho.com.au/product_4X4_group2.htm http://www.kumhotire.com/tire/tire_detail....003004000000000 Happy four-wheeling